When hearing the name Brigitte Nielsen these were the images that came into my mind. Then I discovered her music career.
Throughout her career, Brigitte Nielsen has released two albums and 14 singles. Although her music was never a success in America, she has had some moderate success in other parts of the world.
In 1987, she recorded a duet with Falco. Americans will know Falco for his “one hit wonder”, “Rock me Amadeus”, but like many one hit wonders, “Rock me Amadeus” was his only hit in America. Throughout Europe, Falco was a very successful artist with a long career of hits.
The song Brigitte Nielsen recorded with Falco, titled “Body next to Body”, was a top 10 hit in Austria and even hit number one in Japan.
I get a kick out of the title because it’s not Falco with Brigitte Nielsen or Falco featuring Brigitte Nielsen, but Falco meets Brigitte Nielsen. What can I say, I love it!
The same year she released the duet with Falco, Brigitte Nielsen released her debut album, “Everybody tells a story”.
If you’re a fan of 80s synthpop, this album needs to be in your rotation.
However, have you ever listened to an album from Europe that checks all the boxes for what makes or made a current pop song successful, but there’s something about it that makes you go, “This is great, but it wouldn’t work in the states.” That’s what I feel when I listen to this album. It’s a perfect 80s pop album but there’s something about it that just feels like it wouldn’t work in America.
The album had three singles. The title track, “Everybody Tells a Story”, the ballad, “Maybe”, and “It’s a Strange Love”. There was also a Spanish version of Maybe released in South America titled “Siento”.
I’d argue that with this album, no track is worth skipping, but that being said, I don’t feel the singles selected are the strongest songs from the album. If it were up to me, the songs I’d pick for singles would be “The Persuader”, “Shock Me”, and “My Obsession”.
Her second and final album is the 1991, “I’m the One…and Nobody Else”. This album is pure early ’90s funk.
The lead single off the album is “My Girl (My Guy)” is a cover of the classic Temptations song “My Girl”.
The second and final single for this album is “How Could You Let Me Go?”
Unfortunately from what I can tell this album was not as successful as her debut album, and I have no doubt that there are plenty of people out there that will love this album, but for me personally, I didn’t find many songs that grabbed me. The standout song for me is “Who Told You?”
Although she’s only released two albums throughout her career, Brigitte Nielsen has released several one-off singles.
My personal favorite is the 1990 “Rockin’ Like a Radio” which to the best of my knowledge has never been released as a physical single. I can’t find much information about it, but it exists and there are videos of her performing. This bop needs to be released, it is arguably her best song.
Another notable single is the 2000 “No More Turning Back!!”, released under the name Gitta. Apparently, producers were curious if she could have a hit without her name attached to it. This sounds strange to me because why would producers spend all this money and then actively try to make it harder sell? But…it worked and “No More Turning Back!!” has become the biggest hit of her career, giving her her first solo number one single. Hitting number one in both Spain and the Eurodance chart, it also charted in the Netherlands and the U.K.
Again, this song checks all the boxes for what was popular at the time, but even with the Europop invasion that was happening in America at the time, something about this song just wouldn’t work in the states. That being said, it’s a delightful bop that sounds like a shoo-in for Eurovision.
We do need to discuss the music video. The video takes place in the year 2020 when the world has moved into a digital existence. Brigitte Nielsen plays a computer virus that is going to shake things up. That’s right…Brigitte Nielsen plays a virus…in the year 2020…
In 2002, Brigitte Nielsen, again under the name Gitta, did a duet with RuPaul.
To date, the last release of Brigitte Nielsen is her being featured in the 2012 song “Misery” by the electronic band Spleen United. This time under the name Gitte Nielsen.
Brigitte Nielsen is one of those celebrities who seems to be more famous (or infamous) for who they are rather than their credentials. Everyone seems to have an opinion about her. I know I do, but after I discovered her music career when I hear the name Brigitte Nielsen, my first thought is no longer Sylvester Stallone or Flavor Flav, my first thought is some damn good underrated music!
If you’d like to include her music in your playlist, both her debut album and her duet with Falco are available on Spotify and Amazon music. “No More Turning Back!!” Is also available on these apps, but you must search the name Gitta and even then you have to search a bit because I guess there are several artists with that name that all got lumped together.
Regardless, if this was your first taste of her music, I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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